Testifying before the House Select Committee on the U.S. Capitol Riots, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson testified that former President Donald Trump lunged at a Secret Service agent and attempted to take control of a car after being told he would. Not to join his supporters in the Capitol.
But in interviews with from the insideFormer Secret Service agents had a hard time imagining the episode.
Trump isn’t a little guy, is he? “The space to actually be able to rush into the wheel isn’t that big,” said one former customer. from the inside. “I don’t mean to sound offensive to the ex-president, but only his size would prevent him from actually getting to the wheel.”
Hutchinson was not in the car when Mr. Trump allegedly tried to grab the steering wheel and rushed at Special Agent Bobby Engel, but testified that she heard an account of the accident from White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations Tony Ornato shortly after it happened. .
Agents, who knowingly spoke of the president’s often-ridden SUV known as “The Beast,” cast doubt on the logistics of the alleged attack.
Mr. Trump, now 76, is 6’3″ and is said to have weighed more than 240 pounds when he was in the White House. He vehemently denied Ms. Hutchinson’s claim that he attempted to assault Mr. Engel and angrily grab the steering wheel. He added that Ms. Hutchinson “lives in a fantasy world” and is a “social climber”.
“This lady yesterday, is there something wrong with her? Is there something wrong?” Mr. Trump said in an interview.
Ms. Hutchinson, who was praised for her composure during her testimony, was Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana prior to joining the White House and served as Senior Assistant to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Meadows described it as ineffective as on January 6th.
Ms. Hutchinson said in a statement that she “stands by all testimony she gave yesterday, under oath, before the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol.”
Secret Service agents interviewed before from the inside He fell short of describing Hutchinson’s account of Trump’s behavior as impossible. However, they were clear about their doubts.
“You have to be a little skewed to get from the back compartment to the front compartment and the president is not skewed,” said Bill Pickell, a former deputy assistant director of the Secret Service.
